The male of this species is slightly smaller than the female. The male has a dark throat during breeding periods and inner two fingers and area from thumb and into inner surface of wrist is dark brown to blackish, composed of many tiny papillae that aid the male in holding the slippery body of the female during amplexus (Stebbins, 1954).

A downpour, torrential rains, which extends from mid February to August often initiates breeding; however, breeding seasons vary among the species range. For example, eggs are deposited in July and August, at Santa Fe, New Mexico (Stebbins, 1954).

Eggs are laid in cylindrical masses and are attached to vegetation. They are greenish, olive approximately .162 cm in diameter consisting of 300-500 eggs per female (Stebbins, 1954). Eggs can hatch in 2 to 7 days where young may reach approximately 3 inches, however it is much more common to be smaller during transformation. The development of larva is rapid and frequently speeds up with evaporation of water, concentration of chemicals in water, increase in temperature, or other factors (Stebbins, 1954). The larval period ranges from 25 days to 51 days or 4-6 weeks. The digging reflex is present upon transformation. Most spadefoot toads possess a beak and well-developed jaw musculature (Stebbins, 1954). Tadpoles are carnivores and feed on mosquito larvae.